MESA, AZ (KPHO/KTVK/CNN) - A 63-year-old man was arrested after police say he walked into his neighbor’s home and fatally shot his pit bull after the dog reportedly attacked his Chihuahua earlier in the day.

Police say the fatal shooting happened Nov. 25 after a conflict in which Evans’ dog, a Chihuahua, was reportedly attacked by his neighbor Joe Cruz’s pit bull.

Evans is accused of later walking into Cruz’s home and shooting the dog twice in the head while it was secured in its cage. He told police that after the alleged shooting, he buried the dog in the desert.

Jamie Connors, Cruz’s friend and former partner, said the whole ordeal was distressing.

"She was laying in a puddle of blood in her kennel. That's not something for somebody to see,” Connors said. "This was my child's best friend. For someone to do something like this? There's no justification."

According to police, the pit bull had escaped its home during a garage sale, and Evans said it attacked his Chihuahua, biting it and causing it severe injuries.

The suspect also claimed he was bitten by the pit bull, but police say he didn’t appear to have any serious injuries.

Evans took his dog to the vet, where the bill was reportedly $8,000.

Police say the suspect stated “what he did was worth it.”

The neighbor's friend and former partner, Jamie Connors says the pit bull was her child's best friend. (Source: Jimmy Santiago Salas/KPHO/KTVK/CNN)

"Whether your dog got hurt or not, it gives you no right to walk into somebody’s home and shoot somebody’s dog dead,” Connors said. “And even if your dog died, does that give you any justification to kill somebody else’s? I don’t believe so.”

Cruz said he and Evans had a friendly relationship up until Sunday’s incident.